Step for shelves



(No Model.)

J. J. FARNER.. STEP FOR SHELVBS.

No. 487,117. Patented Nov. 29, 1892.

Inf

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. FARNER, OF NOKOMIS, ILLINOIS.

STEP FOR SH ELVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,117, dated November 29, 1892. Application filed August 14, 1891. Serial No. 402,642. (No model.)

`.['0 a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN J. FARNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nokomis, in the county of Montgomery and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Step for Shelves, of which the following is a specication.

The invention relates to improvements in shelving.

The object of the present invention is to increase the storage of shelf room, to protect goods from iies, dust, and dirt, to prevent accumulation of dust and dirt, as is the case where drawers are employed, and to enable easy access to be had to the goods without employing a step-ladder.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of shelving constructed in accordance with this invention, the covers of some of the shelves being lowered to form steps. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, the position of the covers being the same as shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, l designates a series of shelves arranged adjacent to a wall or other suitable supportingsurface and secured to vertical partitions or division-boards 2 and having hinged at their fronts covers 3, adapted when closed to shut the fronts of the shelves to exclude dust, dirt, and the like, and when open to form steps7 whereby a salesman may readily ascend to obtain goods from a shelf which would be out of his reach when standing on the floor. The cover 3 is hinged to the vertical partitions by leaf or hinge bars 4, which are centrally pivoted to the vertical partitions at points slightly below a shelf and have one end or portion 5 on one side of the pivot 6 secured to the outer face of a cover, and the other portion or arm 7 is arranged to engage the lower face of the shelf when the cover is in a horizontal position to form a step. The leaf or hinge bars 4 are preferably straight on those shelves near the floor, and the covers to higher shelves have their hinge-bars provided with an angular bend or drop 8, which will cause a shelf-cover when in a horizontal position to lie in a lower plane than the shelf. Rings or handles 9 are arranged on the outer faces of the covers to enable them to be readily raised and lowered. When a cover is in a horizontal position, its shelf may be readily dusted or swept off and dust and dirt will not accui mulate on the shelf, as would be the oase were drawers employed.

It will readily be seen that the shelving is simple, inexpensive, strong, and durable, that goods are kept free from dirt and flies and within easy reach of a salesman, and that shelves may be extended to any height and the goods will be readily accessible.

The hinge-bars on the lower shelves may be bent similarly to the upper ones, so that where there are drawers under the lower shelves the drawer front can be used as the shelf-cover and step and the bottom of the drawer can be employed as the shelf-board.

What I claim is- The combination, with vertical partitions and a series of shelves, of a series of hingebars, each having an angular or drop bend and pivoted at the upper angle thereof to a partition and arranged below a shelf and having its outer and inner portions arranged in different planes, and a series of covers secured to the outer portions of the hinge-bars and being caused by the angular or drop bends to iit into and close the spaces between the shelves when in a vertical position and to drop below the shelves when in a horizontal position, substantially as described.

Intestimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN J. EARNER.

Witnesses:

A. F. WEAVER, A. ARMENTROUT. 

